Life-cycle squeeze, time pressure, daily stress, and leisure participation: A Canadian perspective

This article addresses two corollary issues, namely, the relationship betwe en life-cycle and chronic stress, and the effects of leisure participation on stress and health, controlled for life-cycle situation. Arguments have b een made that levels of time pressure and perceived stress have risen in mo dem societies, but that these increases are unevenly distributed among diff erent social demographic groups, in particular groups positioned at differe nt stages of the life-course (Wilensky; 1981; Zuzanek, Robinson and Iwasaki , 1998). It has been also suggested that active life-styles, in particular participation in leisure activities, may serve as an effective tool for mod erating negative health effects of stress. In the following analyses these two propositions are put to an empirical test. Data on stress, time pressur e, health, and leisure participation, collected as part of the 1994 Canadia n National Population Health Survey (n = 17,626), and the 1992 General Soci al (Time-Use) Survey (n = 9,815) are examined in an attempt to: (a) identif y life-cycle groups most exposed to chronic and personal stress; (b) establ ish the relationship between daily stresses and time pressure; (c) assess t he effects of participation in physically active leisure on respondents' st ress levels and mental and physical health; and (d) determine how the relat ionships between life cycle, time pressure, daily stress, health, and leisu re participation are affected by gender.